A proposed approach to environmental protection

The objective of my presentation today is to present our thinking to date on the subject of environmental protection at nuclear facilities. What I intend to present is not a finished product, but the first steps in establishing a new and systematic approach to environmental protection. An important factor that will affect the progress of this process is the current assessment of radionuclides (released from nuclear facilities) under the aegis of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). It is expected that the CEPA assessment will take in the order of two years to complete. In keeping with this schedule, we expect the overall process of establishing a new and systematic approach to environmental protection to be a long-term project taking up to five years to complete. It will start with the establishment of an AECB policy regarding environmental protection and continue with the development of programs, procedures, guides, standards and criteria to implement the policy. (author)